Hello Bob, Yes "The Nautical Yarn" is mock-tragic and I've always sung it as such, but I once was camping beside the Murray River in the Barmah State Forest during a thunder-storm. Was that a scary experience! "The winds they did rage and the waves they did roar!" I can tell you. Only time in my life I've seen ball-lighning! It ran along a wire fence straight at our tent! Gave me new respect for the old Fresh-water Shellbacks like Bill Jinks. Joy